An Arc Affair
by AtinBralor
Summary: Set post Umbara and explores the blossoming friendship between Fives and Tup.


This is set directly after Umbara; the first Clone Wars arc to make me sob like a child.

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An Arc Affair – Chapter 1

The landing bay was a flurry of activity as the gunships came in to land and deposited the exhausted troopers on the durasteel. Those with injuries were ferried off to the medbay while everyone else was dismissed and allowed to their respective quarters on board the Resolute.

The 501st and 212th made their way along the endless corridors to the large communal quarters – unlike most humanoids who craved a space of their own, clone troopers took comfort in numbers. It was always hard to come home to rest and see the empty bunks of brothers lost. It rubbed salt in an already painful wound. Some undressed and climbed straight into bed; others stripped off and hit the showers first.

Fives was among those who shucked the armour and climbed straight into his bunk, above the empty one that had belonged to Echo. His brother hadn't been replaced and he now worked alone – a more normal situation for an ARC - and nobody had wanted to intrude and take Echo's bunk space, so the bunk had stayed empty and neatly made, just as the ARC had left it months before.

His bunk marked the extents of the area used by the 501st, meaning he could rest on his right hand side and survey his brothers without much effort. Rex passed him and gave a tired smile, piling his belongings on his bunk opposite. He usually had words of confidence for the men after a hard campaign, but this time he was silent; nothing could be said.

Kix and Jesse had ambled back from the freshers and climbed into bed, chatting in low tones. Appo and Coric were still undressing, not looking to have the energy to rush. He scanned along the newer additions, trying to match armour patterns and hairstyles to names. He recognised the young trooper who had bravely tackled and stunned Krell. He knew him by sight but still hadn't committed his name to memory. _So many change overs and deaths, it became difficult to keep track._ He was a good soldier though; cautious but thoughtful and brave. A good combination in a soldier. It was often the newer guys who took the worst hits; they weren't seasoned in true battle and, unfortunately, most never go the chance to gain experience. He must have lost close his close brothers on Umbara. _Osik, it was like Rishi all over again. _He closed his eyes tight against the unwelcome memories. _Sleep…just sleep._

He didn't sleep well, dozing in fits and starts. A brother in the 212th had woken screaming, having to be comforted into silence by those around him. Not long after the quiet had settled again he heard someone leave the quarters; bare feet padding, almost silently, past him. He waited for a few moments then got up to follow. Sleep wasn't coming easily and he felt a moral duty to ensure the brother was okay. He slipped off the bunk and pulled on the lower half of his fatigues, leaving the top in his locker. He'd normally put more on, but as long as everyone was still sleeping, he was unlikely to bump into the General's padawan.

Sometimes he felt that this area of the ship should be out of bounds for females, since it was the only place where they were allowed to relax; but then there were female Jedi generals so the idea quickly fell down. Any general needed access to their troops at any time. Captain Rex had set a strict system of rules demanding full fatigues anywhere outside of the quarters or the gym, to prevent any awkward situations. Fives couldn't see the point, personally; as a male he had nothing above the waist that was indecent, unless you deemed scarring indecent…and the young Togrutan went around in barely decent clothing herself. It was double standards, but Rex had firmly stated that she was 'only a kid' and didn't know any better. Fives had murmured that technically they were younger than her but had been overheard and chewed out. Being an ARC didn't gain any points with Rex and it had taken Fives weeks to regain his respect; he'd learnt to keep his mouth shut.

As he left the quarters he saw the trooper heading into the gym. He didn't call after him; he just idled for a few minutes to make it seem less like he was pursuing. Everyone was prone to being a little jumpy after a battle, never mind one as dirty as Umbara, and he didn't want to risk unsettling him further. When he felt that a suitable time had passed, he slipped through the door with casual ease.

He wandered nonchalantly over to where the younger man had settled to lift weights and perched on the bench in front of him. "Can't sleep?" He could see the slight tremor at the full extent of the lift; aching, exhausted muscles or maybe a minor injury. There was nothing visible but he still shouldn't be lifting weights. He reached a hand out to prevent him lifting again. "You'll hurt yourself. Rest a bit. My names Fives."

The other man lowered the weights back into the cradle and gave his shoulder a firm rub to ease the ache. "I know. Pointing a gun at a brother focuses your mind on their name." A haunted looked flicked across his face but he shook his head and held out a hand. "Tup." He was clenching and unclenching his muscles in nervous tension, unable to stay still.

Fives shook the proffered hand and beckoned towards the middle of the gym. "Would you like to spar – get some stress out? I'll go easy on your sore arm."

Tup leapt to his feet, desperate to exhaust himself and push away the memories. "Don't go easy, I want a decent work out."

They came together, wresting for superior grip, each trying to bring the other down on to the mats in a firm hold. They were relatively well matched but soon Fives' superior training won through and got Tup pinned below him, holding for a few seconds before pulling him back to his feet. This pattern continued; the times between success getting shorter as Tup for more frustrated and less careful. Eventually he flopped back onto the mats and refused all of Fives' attempts to raise him.

Fives stood over him, watching his expression carefully. "Did you lose close brothers?" He'd seen the empty bunk all around him as they prepared for bed.

Tup didn't reply for a few minutes, just staring past the ARC at the ceiling. Eventually he reacted. "Sol, Tek, Ink, Crash…Dogma…all of them. It's just me left. Dogma…" He took a sudden deep breath as if in pain, holding it for the count of three before exhaling slowly; trying to keep his emotions under check. "…he made a mistake but he was a good guy. He just did things by the regs all the time. We're meant to obey Jedi and he could only see that in black and white terms. They never gave us training for handling the situation when your Jedi happens to turn dark." He was tensing his muscles again, balling up his fists then stretching his fingers out straight. "What'll happen to him? We're never gonna see him again are we…" He swallowed audibly, keeping his eyes clear of his brother's gaze.

Fives stepped back a little to avoid crowding him. "I'm sorry about your brothers." He thought for a few minutes. "Dogma was wrong though. He was willing to execute us…he turned his gun on you…" He folded his arms across his chest. "Good men don't threaten their brothers. Even if we were to forgive his shutdown over shooting myself and Jesse, you can't excuse threatening you."

Tup was on his feet in threateningly quick time. "He was scared, Fives, he was scared. He did things by the book. That's just how he was…it wasn't that he wanted to see you executed." The tension in his body was visible, making him tremble. He wasn't upset anymore; he was angry. "This is why I came here. I don't need told he was wrong by those who didn't know him."

"I'm sorry, Tup, there's no redeeming himself after his handling of the situation." He took a slight step back to ease the pressure of the situation. "My brother Echo…"

He never got the rest of his sentence out because Tup had launched himself at him, rolling and grappling on the floor. It was a vicious attack and he kept his guard up without hitting back, trying to get him pinned but this time the raw emotional energy was enough to keep Tup in control. His clenched fist had come down on Fives' chin and then as he dodged, the second blow glanced off his throat.

His instant reaction was to gasp but he found he couldn't get a breath and his body's desire was to gag in reaction to the feeling. He choked in a few breaths; his hands up to protect his face. "…'up…Tup." He coughed on what little air he was getting. "Can't….breathe…g'off…"

Tup leant back, seeming to snap out of his mindless assault, still straddling the ARC's stomach. "Are you okay?" He realised that his weight wasn't helping any so he shuffled off and helped him to sit up, patting his back as he coughed and gasped. "Can you get your breath?"

Fives gave a half nod, feeling better for sitting up. It was getting easier to breathe now that the initial panic had worn off. He reached a hand up to rub his throat. "Echo's gone…Tup. I wasn't…trying…to rub…your loss in…your…face." He panted, his chest heaving and aching with the fading panic of suffocation. He sat still for a few minutes, sucking in breaths and focusing on solving the aching before he spoke again. "He was a by the regs guy. I just wanted to say I understand what it's like having a brother who is strict with the regs." _It wasn't entirely true. In his fit of frustration he had intended to say how a good soldier could be black and white with regs and still do what's right for his brothers, but he felt bad for thinking of saying something like that. It wasn't Tup's fault that his brother had made mistakes. He was having a hard enough time dealing with the loss, without discourteous words from anyone else adding to the sting._ He felt Tup rest his forehead on his left shoulder with a fragile sigh and from the slight dampness on his bare skin he knew that he had shed tears. He reached his right arm across ruffle the younger man's hair which had begun to work loose of its topknot. He'd never met a brother who didn't keep his hair military short or shaved but Tup's came down in loose strands, looping down to brush his shoulders while the ends where still twisted somewhere in the knot. It would be impressively long when unwound properly and not just falling out. His hand dropped down to squeeze his shoulder in comfort, sitting still like this until Tup pulled back to wipe his eyes with the hem of his shirt. He took the chance to meet his eyes and give a small smile. "It'll be okay. I know you feel alone, but you're not. It doesn't go away and you'll never forget them, but it stops hurting as much with time." He got to his feet and offered a hand. "Come to bed. You'll feel better with some sleep."

Tup accepted the assistance to his feet and then trailed after him towards the quarters. As he went to walk on towards his own bunk, he felt a hand on his arm.

Fives had reached out to stop him silently, indicating the bunk below his own. He looked a little torn, but his voice was soft and sure. "It was Echo's bunk, but there's no sense in it staying unused. It's been months now…" He looked across to where Tup's pod had been sleeping. "It's good to be among brothers even when you're grieving losses. It'd be nice to share the space with someone again as well…" He climbed up onto his own bunk and pulled the blanket up, leaving the decision open.

After a few seconds Tup pulled back the perfectly tucked blanket of Echo's bunk and slipped under. It smelled different to what he was used to. The minute differences in scent between himself and another man; it smelled of a brother he had never known. It was comforting to be close to other sleeping bodies though. He'd felt the loss unbearably when he lay down in his own bunk, staring at the emptiness around him, at least here he had Fives above him, and Rex and Coric opposite. The sounds of their steady breathing was comforting. He stared up at the underside of the bunk above. "Thank you, Fives." He closed his eyes and breathed in the unfamiliar but comforting smell. "Some time, when you're ready, will you tell me about Echo?" He listened to Fives shuffling about to get comfortable.

"Just try to stop me, brother!"

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_Thanks for taking the time to read - apologies for the length of this first chapter...I usually aim for the 1k word count per chapter but the flow of this one just made sense to keep going rather than breaking it into two chunks. I don't think there's anything in the episodes which suggests that Tup and Dogma are podbrothers - that's just for the sake of story. They were obviously a little closer and Dogma had the confidence to push Tup more than he did the older, more experienced clones._

_I know where the next few chapters are going and hopefully will get them up soon. This time next week I'll have sat my final exam and be finished my degree so writing can get going again. Took a night off today to write this up. _

_More chapters to come soon on Red Eyes and a follow up shaping up in my head. _

_A few chapters of the Atin Bralor story should be coming up soon too - focused probably on the clan relationship towards Vau and Vau's own feelings towards the abandonment of Sev on Kashyyyk and advancements on that theme. _

_So hopefully plenty to come soon. Can't wait for the degree to be over. 90 page dissertation submitted and it put me off words for a few days! But I'm back rolling again._

_~ Atin_


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